Me: I'm happy to report that NOT ONLY is this a new chapp, but Abby and Vivian did NOT kill each other!
Ichigo: Much.
Rukia: ALTHOUGH, that medieval battle ax coming into play worries me...
Ichigo: (gasps) THAT'S where my medieval weapons went! Ohhhh, she's SO dead..
Me: (eye-twitch) Ichigo?
Ichigo: WHAT.
Me: No bodily harm towards our loyal readers and reviewers. (beams at audience as if no homicidal threat had been made) ENJOY!
THAT NIGHT...
Peyton was right in the middle of a really odd dream, odder than usual, when she heard scratching. Her eyes blinked open, and she sat up from her pallet on the floor, looking around.
It was kinda weird to see how everyone slept. Matsumoto was sprawled out, cleavage threatening to fall right out of her Soul Reaper robe.
Rukia was curled up like a cat, and Peyton assumed that was how she was used to sleeping in Ichigo's closet.
Senna was sleeping underneath the window, and the moonlight was falling right on her face. Peyton made a mental note to ask her how she kept her hair so shiny.
Arisu was lying flat on her back, hands clasped together on the area between her chest and stomach. She reminded Peyton of Princess Fiona from Shrek. Tch, lemme guess. There's only one noble way to sleep...
The youngest Noble nearly scared the crap out of her, because Peyton had only just now realized Chiyoko had curled up right beside her.
"When the hell did she get over here...?" She wondered out loud, but her attention snapped over to the window, where she heard more scratching.
I really hope that's Renji or one of the other dumbasses...
But of course it wasn't. Not when she was actually EXPECTING them to pop up! Nope, instead, it was a group of four ninjas.
Peyton's eyes widened, and she blinked to make sure she was seeing them for real and she wasn't just hallucinating.
After establishing they WERE in fact sliding open the window, she hopped up and shook herself awake, debating whether or not to wake everyone up for something she could take care of herself.
Her question was answered when one ninja was clumsy enough to step on Senna's ass, making her yowl much like a cat and wake everyone up.
"What the HELL-" Senna shouted before grabbing her zanpakuto from its sheath, blocking three attacks just in time.
Peyton gestured for Arisu to join her and Chiyoko, and she nodded quickly before attempting to do so.
Unfortunately, five more ninjas dove through the already-open window, and Arisu shrieked in surprise.
Peyton sighed and shot out some "electricity" at two ninjas who had cornered her, and Arisu more-or-less ran and dove for her and Chiyoko.
Chiyoko, still groggy, patted her sister's back as even more slid through the windows. "It's okay, Arisu. It's just a dream, you know."
Peyton used mostly hand-to-hand for a few other ninjas who tried to grab the Nobles, and only had to use her spirit energy for one other ninja.
Soon, all eighteen ninjas lay dead or unconscious on the wood floor. All the Soul Reapers- well, and Peyton- were breathing heavily, and Arisu was trembling wide-eyed on the floor, huddled by her yawning little sister.
They heard another crash, and everyone tensed. Arisu actually screamed, hiding her face with her fingers.
But it was just the dudes. Everyone else sighed with relief, and Arisu peeked through her fingers before regally plopping them in her lap, but Peyton planted her hands on her hips.
"...Oh. NOW y'all show up. Typical!"
Toshiro glanced at all the incapacitated assassins before putting his zanpakuto back in its sheath. "We heard rather chaotic noises."
"Took you long enough," Rukia muttered with a yawn, scratching at her dissheveled hair groggily.
Matsumoto folded her arms underneath her chest. "I'm guessing this was supposed to be an ambush. We're lucky Senna got stepped on, or we might not've awakened in time."
Peyton grinned as Senna huffed. "Yes. So lucky. I'm gonna have SUCH a huge bruise on my ass come morning, but at least I get praised for it. Don't you DARE laugh, Shiro!" She added as the Noble-in-question started snickering.
Peyton and Matsumoto exchanged a grin, and Renji rolled his eyes. Toshiro bent down to look at a few ninjas in particular before grinning at Peyton. "Your handiwork. Urahara was right."
"About what?"
"Oh, nothing."
She huffed. "I hate it when people do that."
"If it helps, Renji was the reason we took so long," Ichigo offered. Everyone looked to Renji, whose temple throbbed.
"That's SO NOT TRUE, Strawberry, and you know it!"
"YEAH, it is! You just refused to wake up, and you MUST have been having a good dream, because all I heard all damn night so far was 'Rukiaaaa, Rukiaaaa!'"
"YOU TAKE THAT BACK!"
"NO!"
Toshiro held up a finger. "I hate to choose sides, but Ichigo is right, Renji. I also heard you mentioning Rukia quite frequently."
Shiro nodded with a smirk, momentarily pausing his argument with Senna over her ass. "Dude, he's right. Face it!"
Peyton sweatdropped. "How come YOU know more modern terms, yet your sisters.."
"Around here, women are thought of as gentle, elegant beings. Modern isn't in their repertoire," Tetsuo explained.
Ichigo snickered. "Jeez, Peyton, you wouldn't last five minutes as a Noble!" She smacked his good arm, but then she noticed something out of the corner of her eye.
It was Byakuya. He was bent on one knee so he was at eye-level with Arisu, who was still trembling, but looked a lot calmer.
"Is he doing what I think he's doing?" Ichigo asked, making Peyton jump.
"Jeez, don't DO that! And if you think he's comforting her, then...I think you'd be right," she said in a tone that suggested amusement and wonder.
He laughed in disbelief. "Well, I'll be damned. Kuchiki has a heart."
Peyton laughed too, then groaned as she noticed something rather depressing. "Crap!"
"What?"
She drooped. "Those three ninjas are all bleeding on MY sleeping spot! Ughhhhh! NOT cool!" He rolled his eyes and held up his cast. "If it makes you feel any better, all this ninja-fighting we're doing on the road is making this thing itch even more than usual!"
"Oh, you poor thing. Especially since I just took on the same amount you have in three days, all in one night."
"Yeah, but YOU don't have a cast!"
"Yeah, but YOU have a place to sleep that's NOT stained with blood. I mean, what if they have AIDS?"
"They're SPIRITS, Peyton."
"So? Just because THEY can't die from it doesn't mean I can't!"
He sweatdropped. "You're obviously really tired. You make about as much sense as my dad when he's drunk. And you've SEEN how much stupider he is when he's drunk."
She stuck her tongue out at him, and he stuck his right back out at her. Soon, they were going back and forth, making faces like little kids, and Chiyoko started giggling and clapping her hands.
"Can I do it too, lovers?"
They both sweatdropped. "You REALLY don't have to call us that," Peyton told her.
She giggled. "I know! But Ichigo-san always gets a funny smile on his face when I say it. And you always blush so pretty, Peyton-chan!"
Matsumoto started laughing, and they both turned to glare at her.
"Hey, you KNOW...I think Matsumoto and Captain Hitsugaya would like to be called lovers, too," Peyton said sneakily as soon as the aforementioned Lieutenant was otherwise occupied.
Chiyoko brightened by epic proportions. "Reeeeally?"
Ichigo and Peyton exchanged a rather mischievious grin. "Oh, ABSOLUTELY!"
"See, they're secretly lovers, they just don't know it yet," Ichigo added. Chiyoko's eyes widened. "You mean that can HAPPEN?"
"Oh, totally. Anything's possible when it comes to love," Peyton informed her in a wise voice, and the kid nodded in absolute wonder.
"Okay! That makes so much sense, Peyton-chan! I have thought for a long while that Matsumoto-san and Captain Hitsugaya would make excellent lovers!"
The two "lovers" just nodded and waited until Chiyoko pranced off to talk to Shiro and Senna. Then they busted out laughing.
AN HOUR LATER...
"Ichigo?"
"Hmm?"
"Are you still awake?"
"No."
"Oh. Well then, pretend to be awake for a second," she whispered, and he yawned before muttering, "Fiiiiine."
Everyone else was already asleep. It was pretty damn crowded now that they were cramped into the same hut, thanks to the floor being COVERED with assassins in the other one. So now all of them were forced to share. YAY.
Although, Peyton and Ichigo didn't mind too much.
"It's about Senna."
For once, he didn't tense up at the mention of her name. "...Okay, what?"
"Well...I'm not sure."
"Peyton, it's about three in the morning, why don't you try asking me when you can actually form thoughts?" He grumbled moodily before laying his head back on her shoulder. She continued to stare up at the ceiling, and huffed.
"NO, I wanna talk about it NOW. I want your opinion on something."
He pretended not to have heard her, which only resulted in her flicking his ear. "Ow, dammit! Fine, what?"
She rolled her eyes. "Honestly answer me, did you know Senna liked you this whole time?"
"Well...Yeah...Why, are you jealous?" He asked with a hint of laughter in his voice.
She wasn't, but she decided to humor him. "Well, what if I am?"
"I'd say you were crazy."
"And why would you say THAT? I mean, c'mon, she's pretty hot. She could have you in a heartbeat."
"Because, moron, YOU have me already. Getting me is more-or-less impossible at this point in time, for anybody. Including Senna."
Peyton grinned. "I should talk to you in the middle of the night a lot more often. You're a lot sweeter."
"Hence why I'm usually asleep at this hour."
"Well, anyways, I'm not jealous. But thanks for the entertainment. What I wanna know is...I don't want to make things hard for her. I happen to LIKE my potential competition. So I was wondering if maybe we should tone things down between us when she's around."
"Really now?"
"Yeah. BUT...I think she's starting to get over you, little by little. So I want to know what YOU think about the whole thing."
He pretended to be in deep thought, now playing with her hair. "Hmmm...It's MY professional opinion...That you should go to sleep."
Peyton's temple throbbed. "YOU'RE a load of help."
He chuckled and plopped his head to rest on her collarbone. "If Senna has a problem with it, I think we'll be able to tell. Until then..."
He propped himself up on his elbow and kissed her a few times before returning to his original position. "Later, lover."
She rolled her eyes, grinning. "Later."
They were dead asleep in under two minutes.